Recipes Every Man Should Know; 'Caribbean Food Made Easy'; joythebaker.com

ON THE SHELVES

It would be easy to dismiss this as a silly novelty. It's designed to look exactly like a wolf's little black book, only instead of a list of eligible ladies, this little number has dishes of a different sort: Actual dishes. All of it absolute guy-food, too: Beer-Battered Onion Rings, Potato Wedges, Beef Stew, Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf, Greens with Bacon, Bacon Guacamole, Bacon Brownies - and a bunch more stuff with bacon.

But wait. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea. The authors are obviously talking to the noncooking male, the sort who points to his mouth and expects food to be put in it, and they explain in simple, male-focused language that a world of good eats can be his if he just puts his two hands to work doing something other than pointing at his mouth.

It's a small book, 3 ½ by 6 inches, yet most recipes are held succinctly to one or two pages, even the gourmet-ish ones like Pasta Carbonara. That one, by the way, has a handy alternate version, Poor Man's Pasta Carbonara (substitute bacon for pancetta). Every recipe also has guy-friendly time estimates. Very few take longer than 35 minutes and most take around 15.

There are even some date-type food recipes, including Sexy Strawberries Zabaglione and No-Bake Cheesecake.

ON TV

"Caribbean Food Made Easy" on Cooking Channel

Levi Roots is the chef-host of this fun show, with new episodes airing at noon on Sundays.

Roots grew up in Jamaica but moved to England as a young man. To recapture some of the culture of his native land, the irie, as Jamaicans say, Roots began making the recipes that his grandmother taught him.

He opened a café in London in 2007 and "Caribbean Food Made Easy" first aired in 2009. Levi is also an award-winning reggae artist and some episodes will have him performing an impromptu song while he cooks.